Starving them out

The UN has accused the US of using starvation as a weapon in Iraq. According to Jean Ziegler, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, US forces cut off food and water to insurgant-held towns in an effort to force civilians to leave the area. While militarily effective, this violates the Geneva Conventions, and commanders ordering such tactics could be held responsible for war crimes under international law.

The US has denied the charges, but it is worth noting that they have used such tactics before. During the Vietnam war, the US ran a "food denial program" targeting crops, with the specific aim of depriving hostile civilian populations of food and thus forcing them to relocate to US-controlled areas. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?